Weekend Accomplishments
by FatesMistake
Summary: Sequel to Movie Night. Harry and Severus run into complications through their own pig-headedness over the weekend, Harry and his friends accomplish a rarity, again, and the plot between Ginny and Ron comes to light with unforeseen betrayals and unfortunate consequences for them and their accomplices. Rated mostly for language and some slashy goodness.
1. Talks with Dad

A/N: So, yeah...I don't know if this is terribly good, but it has at least a little finesse. I didn't get more than two ideas for the sequel, and one of them was a little out there (why would Remus trip Severus on the stairs? I don't get how that's a sequel idea), so I just winged it from what the only GOOD suggestion was. Instead of making plans to shove them together, however, they let them choose for themselves.

Severus watched Lucius walk into the foyer and smirked at the shock on his face when he saw the group that accompanied the Potions Master. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise, what are you six doing here?"

Harry grinned. "Hey, Dad, we couldn't find a common room to crash for the weekend since Professor Collins is watching Slytherin while Professor Snape is here, so we thought we'd crash the East Wing. Is that alright? Professor Snape said it would be safe for us to be here, even though it's the full moon."

Lucius nodded. "Of course, if Severus thinks it will be safe for you, I have no reason to argue. Remus is in the library, if you want his help studying tonight."

"Thank you, Father," Draco said regally.

The group moved towards the hall that led to the East Wing library, the largest in the mansion, with greetings and thanks from the group passed to Lucius as they went. Severus moved towards his friend. "Dad?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

The elder Malfoy chuckled. "What with Remus being his legal guardian, I adopted him as well. He was confused about what to call me, but at one point I had to wake him from a nightmare last Summer and he called me 'Dad' instinctively. After I convinced him the name was quite alright with me, it stuck. I like it, and even Draco is starting to call me it on occasion, putting aside Narcissa's ridiculous influence."

"I see, and what does he call Remus, then?" Severus asked curiously.

Lucius shrugged as he led the way to the study. "Usually 'Papa', but he's been known to call him 'Daddy' when he's had a nightmare. He tends to become a frightened child after one of the bad ones," He explained. When they reached the study, he poured them each two fingers of fine scotch. "What did my young Harry do to convince you to let them tag along?"

Severus smirked. "Promised me a whole box of licorice and complimented my appearance in Muggle clothing," He answered simply, sipping at his drink.

Lucius looked at him mischievously. "Before or after you agreed?"

"The licorice before, but the compliment came after. Don't start in on me again, though, Lucius, I don't care for your wish to make me look vulnerable. The man is a good friend, but I have never seen anything to suggest he's in any way romantically interested in me, or anyone for that matter. Except…" He stopped, thinking about it and letting Lucius curiosity grow. The man urged him silently to continue. "I overheard a conversation between him and his friends last month that piqued my interest. He's apparently been pining after someone for two years now. He wouldn't say who, and his friends don't know, but he compared the man to Mr. Darcy, and some other character I know nothing about. As his adoptive father, has he spoken to you about someone?"

Lucius sat there pensively. "Fitzwilliam Darcy, from the Jane Austen novel?" Severus nodded. "I can't say as he's mentioned anything to either myself or Remus, but I only know one man, like that, that he has seen consistently for two years."

Severus seemed troubled. "I can't think of anyone, and you don't know that he's seen the man consistently. It is not impossible to love someone from afar for an extended period of time. If it was his first love, the feeling would never fade. To assume he's close to the person can only limit the number of possibilities, and we'd likely guess wrong. Was there anyone, two years ago, that he was close to at the time, even if he's not now?"

Lucius shook his head. "Only the youngest Weasley's, neither of whom are anything like Darcy's character. I really think it's someone he is still close to, though. Harry does not easily fall in love, so it would be someone he's known for a while, and it would have to be someone he respected. Even if it were someone he was no longer close to at the end of his fifth year, he would not continue to feel towards them so greatly. He makes an effort to remain close to everyone he has respect for, even if he can only owl them, like with the twins, and so would have had to lose respect for that person to no longer be in contact with them."

Severus nodded in understanding and sipped his scotch, walking towards the fire as Lucius sat in a comfortable armchair. "Then who do you suspect the man is? You said you knew of only one man that he has remained close to in the last two years."

"You, of course," Lucius said matter-of-factly, making Severus choke on his drink. "Don't be so shocked, Severus, you're a fine catch and I know that many men desire you. You are simply unapproachable in public, and they find themselves refusing to get close. I myself once held an attraction towards you, as you know."

"Yes, I am aware. You are one of very few men with the courage to approach me. Obviously your eyesight needs repair, though, if you think the young man feels any attraction towards me. Harry is the Man Who Prevailed, he has a multitude of men at his feet, as well as women," Severus said off-handedly.

Lucius scoffed. "You said it was someone that was similar to Mr. Darcy, and you are the only man he knows that is anything like that. Won't you even consider the idea that he feels for you as you do him?"

Severus shook his head harshly. "It would be too ironic, and devastating when it turned out that you were, indeed, wrong. I refuse to entertain the idea, it will only lead to humiliation. I admit that I have witnessed a few stray looks from the boy, but I also know I have an aesthetically pleasing physique, and he is a teenager."

"You're too hard on yourself, and I wish you'd take a chance just once. What have you got to lose? Harry graduates in a couple of months, it would only be awkward for that time before you wouldn't have to deal with it, were he to feel as indifferent as you think he does," Lucius reasoned. "I'm not convinced, though, that he is indifferent. He respects you even more than he respects Remus."

Severus growled. "It would not only be until he graduated. In case you forgot, he is your adoptive son, and only spends a limited amount of time at Grimmauld with the mutt, less now that Black has shown Harry his true colors. And besides that, I have heard Dumbledore mention that he is considering offering Harry the Defense position after he graduates. Would you have that awkwardness between us with him to become my colleague?"

Lucius shrugged and stood, banishing his tumbler to the kitchens. "It is your choice, Severus. I thought you had learned long ago that you cannot be happy unless you take a risk once in a while. Where's the little boy that risked ridicule from the little red-haired girl down the street when he saw her perform magic? Where's that risk gone?"

Severus grunted and drained his own drink. "It died with the red-haired girl, Lucius. I may very well fall in love with the brat, and I won't have my heart broken. Lily was like my sister, and having Harry as a friend is almost better than when I was with her. I won't sacrifice that for a slim chance at being happier."

Lucius sighed. "Lily would likely smack you for being so stubborn, Severus," He said at length. "Let's go and join everyone else in the library for an hour before we all head off to bed."

Severus banished his glass and shouldered his bag before following his friend out of the room.


	2. Not Enough

Harry led the way into the library.

"Harry, I didn't know you and Draco were coming home for the weekend, and with your friends no less," Remus said, looking torn between worried and happy as the group filed into the large three-story room.

"Sorry, Papa, I'd have owled first, but it was very much a last minute decision. Professor Snape said it would be safe for us to join him, and Dad said that it was fine with him if it was fine with Professor Snape. We'll be completely out of the way, I promise," Harry said as the group gathered around one of the larger tables and began pulling out books.

Remus smiled. "Well, if Severus and Lucius agreed, then I am glad to see you home. I think, though, that it is rather late for you six to study tonight. You'll be here for hours if you start now."

Hermione answered as Harry passed parchment to the group. "We aren't doing the session tonight; we're saving that for tomorrow. Tonight we're just going over our last test scores so we know what areas we should concentrate on. We don't ever study on Friday's, not after Professor McGonagall got pictures of us all with ink stains on our faces last year. We had fallen asleep while we were studying, and the ink hadn't dried on our notes or essays."

Remus chuckled and went back to his book, and Harry began the review. They worked for nearly an hour before they finished, Hermione noting everyone's weak areas and what books she knew might help. The group then separated to more comfortable seats, most on the floor, to independently study up on their weak areas.

SSHP

Harry was reading through his Defense book for a spell he couldn't remember the name of when he was interrupted. Hermione, who had been sitting at Harry's feet going through her Charms text, had suddenly spoken up, catching everyone's attention.

"Harry, do you know any sign language? I missed a few questions on the last pop quiz in Muggle Studies, and the Professor said I could get extra credit next week, when we study how Muggles cope with disabilities, if I can give an example. Sign language seems like the easiest to demonstrate, but I don't know any," Hermione said.

Everyone looked at Harry, who looked pensive before nodding. "I had a friend in grade school, for about a week before Dudley broke it up, and he was deaf. He started to teach me sign by writing it down and then showing me the sign for the words."

"Do you remember any of it at all?" Hermione pleaded.

Harry thought back, then raised his hand and extended his pinky, pointer, and thumb, the other fingers coiled into his hand. "This means 'I love you'," He said slowly. "And this," he swiped his thumb softly under his chin, from back to front, then swiped his palm over his other fist. "That means 'not enough'. They were the last things I learned from him. Dudley had just beat him up the day before, and had one of his friends with a deaf grandmum tell him that he had to stay away from me. He sat down with me at lunch and wrote down 'I love you', then showed me the sign, then did the sign for not enough. I hadn't understood, of course, and he wrote it down right before he walked away and ignored me for the rest of the year." He finished solemnly, remembering how devastated he'd been when his first real friend had walked away. "Dudley has apologized for it about a million times, whenever he sees someone who is deaf he texts me an apology. Collin was a good friend, but I have better now, so I only tell him to stop worrying about it," He finished with a sad smile.

Hermione sniffled, as did Susan, and both had tears in their eyes.

"That's so sad, Nii-chan, that those words are all you have left to remember him by," Luna whispered from the floor on the other side of Harry's chair.

Harry turned his sad smile to her, and ran his hand over her blonde hair. "No, not really, Imouto. It taught me a lesson, and for that I am grateful to him."

"What lesson was that, Harry?" Remus asked, startling the group who had forgotten he was there.

Harry glanced surreptitiously at the door to see Severus and his dad enter quietly. "It taught me that no matter how much you say 'I love you'," He started, turning back to Remus and making the sign. "Sometimes it's just not," He made the sign for 'not', "Enough," He made the last sign with a hollow chuckle. "Like with Voldemort. I learned that his mum fell for a Muggle, who didn't love her, so she fed him a love potion. She kept giving them to him until she found out she was pregnant with Tom, and wanted to know if maybe he loved her for real. He rejected her, called her a freak, and she died when she gave birth to the baby, who he denied. She loved Tom, I'm sure she did, but not enough to put aside her broken heart and stick around for him, y'know? And my parents, well maybe there's a point where you love someone too much."

"I assure you, that is quite impossible. It is only _really_ love when you're willing to give your everything for someone. I'll admit your father died for your mother, and not for you, but your mother loved you as much as James loved her," Lucius said, sitting beside his biological son on the couch. "You can never love someone too much, not unless you're willing to hurt them to make them yours, like Tom's mother did his father."

Harry nodded and the enlarged group sat in silence. Finally he remembered what weekend it was. "Dad, do you and Papa have anything planned for Sunday? If so, we'll be sure to stay out of the way. I kind of forgot it was Valentine's weekend when I came up with this plan."

Lucius shook his head, but Remus was the one who answered. "Because it's the full moon, we've decided to celebrate next weekend. Didn't any of you have something planned for Valentine's?"

Harry nodded. "We all do, together. We planned to perform the friendship ritual, so that our bond can be recognized by the Ministry and such, that way when we graduate and go our separate ways we'll have every right to use any means to reach each other if someone is in trouble. All of us have our share of bad times, and we know we can't stay together forever, so this way we'll know when something is wrong and be able to come running," He explained. He looked around at his friends who were nodding along. "We're family, and we want to make sure we're recognized as such."

He looked down when his hand was grabbed. "Well said, Nii-chan. I need a chaperone, though, to perform the ritual since I'm underage. Professor Flitwick had agreed, but since we couldn't stay at Hogwarts for the weekend, why don't we do it next weekend?" Luna asked dreamily. The group groaned. They'd rescheduled twice already for differing reasons. "I have to have either my father or a professor present," Luna murmured apologetically.

Harry moved to reassure her that there was nothing wrong with moving it out another week, but he found himself interrupted by their professor. "I could chaperone. Even if we are not at the school, I am your professor until you graduate if you're in my class or my House. All of you are in my class, so there shouldn't be a problem, when do you expect to perform the ritual?"

Hermione answered. "At midnight tomorrow, sir. You couldn't possibly chaperone us and watch Remus at the same time, though. We're alright with pushing it out another week. We just have to hope things like this don't continue to pop up, or we might not have time before June."

"Then I will supervise Remus during the night tomorrow, and catalogue the research. I may not have a mastery, but I had the grades to achieve one," Lucius said coolly. "This is something you seem set on happening, and Valentine's is likely the best time to do it. Severus, don't you agree?"

Severus nodded from his chair by the fire. "It is a fairly short ritual in any case, so I wouldn't be gone from my research for very long. I would be remiss in my duties as a teacher if I did not try my best to help my students achieve higher learning. If you die, you can't learn, so we'll call the bond a learning experience," He agreed.

The group released a collective whoop and Harry watched the man as everyone settled back into their books. He had changed, become more…human. He was still a git in classes, but took time to explain things instead of expecting everyone to know. He'd become fair towards the other houses, and had even taken to tutoring the muggleborn and raised in proper ingredient care. The death of Snakeface had left everyone to live their lives the way they wanted, and Harry had been pleasantly surprised when Snape had opted to remain Potions Professor. Everyone had been sure he'd leave the school as soon as possible, but it turned out he had a heart somewhere in those robes, and it had a soft spot for his students. Harry had been glad to get to know the man, at Draco and Lucius' insistence, and was happy to call him his friend. He'd always respected the man greatly, but since the summer after Fifth Year, he'd felt his feelings for the man grow.

"Here's an interesting fact," Luna said as everyone was packing up to go to bed. The room paused to listen. "Did you know that no man can lie in his sleep? As long as you speak softly, don't say his name, and he's not a light sleeper, you can ask him anything and he'll give you a completely honest answer."

Draco snorted. "Or you could pin his ass down and force him to drink Veritaserum," He said, making everyone snicker.

Harry was still snickering when he realized all of his friends were watching him, the adults staring between them curiously. "What?" He realized it couldn't be good when Neville smirked.

"Are you a light sleeper, Harry?" The amateur horticulturist asked.

"All of you have spent every weekend with me for nearly two years, you should know the answer to that. And don't even try to get it out of me, I'm immune to Veritaserum and have spells that I cast nightly to keep myself from talking in my sleep," He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

The group groaned confusing the adults more. "Wait, what are you trying to get out of Harry?" Remus asked, ignoring the profuse head shaking coming from his adopted son.

"Who he's in love with," Susan answered matter-of-factly. "He won't tell any of us."

Remus looked at Harry, who growled in frustration. "I'm not in love, I'm just in the midst of a long-term, unrequited infatuation that has grown over time, alright. I'm not looking to get into a relationship, not right now. Maybe when I'm older and the whole world isn't out for a piece of me to add to their collection, when I can trust whoever I date to be interested and not out for the fame. At the very least, until Ginny Weasley gets the hint and stops threatening every girl or guy that sends me a wayward glance."

"You're afraid of Ginny Weasley?" Snape snorted. "Or are you actually afraid of falling in love?" He challenged.

Harry glared at him. "I am completely open to the idea of falling love, I just don't…" He trailed off uncomfortably and left the room before anyone could say anything.

"Harry, wait," He heard everyone cry behind him. He didn't pause, walking towards his own rooms rather than Draco's suite. He needed to be alone, to think. He'd never really considered why he was so scared of falling in love, but when Snape had asked, he'd felt the answer come to him immediately, like it'd been boiling under the surface all along. Snape could always make him talk about what was bothering him, even if he didn't know he was bothered about something.

"Speak of the devil," He murmured to himself. Snape was standing beside the door to his rooms. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't honestly care if you want to talk or not, I'm here to listen and sleep, as Lucius gave me these rooms for the weekend, since they are so close to his and Remus'. I will admit to some concern, but I have explained to your friends that it was wrong for them to push you in that way," Snape said.

Harry opened the door to his rooms, and headed immediately for the room on the right, with the door connected to his parent's room. He still couldn't understand why Lucius had given him a suite; he didn't have that much stuff to fill such a large area. He set his things down and went back into the sitting area to read. Snape was still there, staring into the flames from the couch.

"You'll want to move, sir. I have a habit that I won't let you interrupt, as I have not let anyone else interrupt it," Harry said, standing by the couch. The man only raised an eyebrow, frustrating Harry enormously. "Fine, then don't complain." With that, he lay out on the couch. He laid his head back, completely unaffected by the fact that it was in his professor's lap, excepting the blush that was slowly spreading. He raised his book to just above his eyes and began reading.

"What are you doing?" Snape asked.

"Reading," Harry answered. "Before you ask, yes, I have to lay this way, it's an old ritual that promotes the creative mind, and I find that it helps me to really get into the novel. I did warn you to move. I had Draco pinned for all of twenty minutes before he gave up his pride and left me in peace."

"It is not pride, it is dignity, and don't imagine that this compromises mine in any way. I was sitting here first, and besides that you were supposed to be in Draco's suite," Snape sniffed, summoning a book of his own.

Harry shrugged and returned to his book. "Whatever, sir, it's your choice," He muttered, turning the page. After only a few minutes, he set his book against his chest. "I think you were right when you asked if I was afraid of falling in love," He said softly. Snape looked down at him, setting his book on Harry's stomach, giving him his full attention. Harry sighed and stood up. "I know I _can_ love someone," He started pacing in front of the blazing fire. "But what if it's not enough?" He asked, unconsciously making the signs for the last two words. "Everyone I love has either gotten hurt or left me, like Ron and Ginny did, and Sirius. I know they aren't the same thing, but if I can't love family enough for them to stay, how am I supposed to love someone in a relationship enough for them to want to stay with me?"

"Harry, you can't blame yourself for your friends and dogfather being complete prats. I guarantee that it wasn't that you couldn't love them enough, but that they didn't really love you at all. The two youngest Weasley's are, unfortunately, only seeking your fame. I have caught them discussing it in alcoves and abandoned classrooms. Ronald was seeking your hero status for himself, and Ginevra is looking to get your money. Black…he just needs to grow up, Harry, that's all. He expected you to be a carbon copy of your father, and when you proved that you were your own person, neither more like your mother or father, he didn't know what to do. I imagine Azkaban had a lot to do with his reluctance to grow into the adult he could be," Snape said calmly. "He transferred guardianship to Remus for you, never doubt that. He knows that the two of you don't really have anything in common, and wanted to be sure you were with someone he knew could watch over you and be the father he simply isn't. He's always been more of a fun uncle, never really had the capacity for fatherhood, especially considering you're a teenager."

Harry smiled, Snape always knew what to say. He sat down and picked up his book, lying out on the couch again. "Thanks, Professor," He whispered sincerely, smiling up at the man.

"My name is Severus, so long as we are not at the school, Harry, and do not thank me for telling you the truth. I told you before that I will never lie to you to preserve your feelings. But you understand, don't you, that you don't need to worry about loving someone enough?" Snape asked, raising his own book back to eye level.

Harry grinned. "Yeah, I get it. It's not just about how much I love someone, it's about how much they love me as well, and if I spend my life worrying everyone will leave, all I'll have managed is to spend my life worrying."

Snape nodded and they each returned to their reading. At some point, Snape began carding his fingers through Harry's hair, and Harry could feel himself drifting off. He didn't care, he knew he was safe with the Potions Master there.


	3. Potions Aptitude

Severus awoke slowly, rolling his neck uncomfortably to get the cricks out. At some point he would get too old for falling asleep on the couch, he knew, and he thanked Merlin that Wizards typically had at least double the lifespan of Muggles. He sat up slightly and remembered exactly why he'd fallen asleep on the couch. Harry had fallen asleep in his lap, and Severus, certain the boy would get up to relieve himself, or have one of his notorious nightmares, had continued to read. He'd ended up drifting off, his book now on the floor and his hand on the boy's book on his chest. He lifted the book from the boy's grasp and saw that it was _The Odyssey_, a book he favored highly.

He looked down when the boy groaned and rolled over, facing towards his knees. "Good morning, Harry," He said softly.

The boy groaned again. "Why does the sun have to be so damn bright in the mornings? Just once I'd like to wake up without the sun blinding me." He complained.

Severus couldn't help but chuckle as he spelled the curtains on all of the windows closed. "Better?"

Harry rolled back over onto his back and yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. When he opened them at last, Severus was glad he'd provided the boy with the eye correction potion. The normally vibrant green orbs were even more stunning in the morning, shining with vitality and peacefulness.

"Much, thank you. You have surprisingly comfortable thighs, I think that's the first time in months that I've slept the whole night through, and I didn't even have any nightmares. Obviously, I should transfigure you into my personal pillow," The boy teased, grinning as he stretched.

Severus snickered and turned it quickly into a sniff of indignance. "You will do no such thing, Harry. Now get up, I need to change and begin my final notes on the Wolfsbane before tonight," He urged.

The boy groaned and stretched one last time before rolling off of the couch. He stood up, bent at the waist, his ass exposed nicely in the tight jeans he'd worn the day before. Severus bit back a moan at the thoughts in his head, and instead stood up abruptly. The idea was poorly thought through, as he was pressed against the curve of the round buttocks long enough for his mind to go on a field trip.

"Sorry," Harry said, straightening quickly and turning. "I had to pop my back, and didn't really think about how close I was standing to the couch. My bad," He apologized lamely.

Severus cleared his throat, glad his burgeoning manhood wasn't yet obvious. "It is fine, just be more aware of your surroundings next time. I'm going to shower before I begin my final preparations." He shifted around the younger wizard and towards his room, but stopped when the boy spoke.

"Can I join you?"

"What?" Severus sputtered, turning and raising an eyebrow with a seductive smirk.

Harry blushed. "N-no, not your sh-shower," He stammered nervously. "I meant could I join you for the final preparations. I'm really curious about the strides you've made to improve the potion, and hoped I could glance over your notes, or even help."

Severus forcefully pushed the feeling of disappointment away. "You have ten minutes to shower, dress, and meet me here. If you're not out here when I am, I'm starting the preparations without you and the invitation is closed."

The boy nodded quickly and darted into his room. Severus sighed briefly before he disappeared into his own bathroom. He was such a fool, thinking the boy would want anything to do with him. Even if the boy did, what had he been thinking, suggesting the boy wanted to join him in the shower? He knew Harry well enough to know that he was a virgin on all accounts.

SSHP

They'd been working for an hour when it occurred to Severus that his companion should have been somewhere else. "Harry, why aren't you with your friends studying?"

The boy looked up from the notes he'd been going through. "Oh, I guess I forgot to mention it. Hermione is running this week's session. We have a standing rule that if we don't have anything specific that we need help on, we can opt out of the session if we aren't in charge. I mentioned last night, when we were waiting in the Entrance Hall, that I hoped I'd have some time to spend with you this weekend, to help with the potion or at least read through your notes so I can help with any problems that might arise. They all practically banned me from today's session."

Severus grunted as he tested the potion. "Well, to save you some intensely boring reading, the only problem that should arise is the one side effect I haven't yet figured out how to counteract, but that Remus is willing to deal with for the chance this might keep him from transforming at all. One of the components of the potion is to prevent the expansive hair growth, and it seems to leave a rash in the hair's stead."

"Did you try adding chamomile to the potion?"

"Obviously, but it interacts poorly with the Boomslang skin," Snape answered testily.

"What about Aloe? It has no acidic properties and has been known to reduce swelling. The rash is likely due to a swelling of the hair follicle, so maybe the aloe could reduce the effect, if not stop it altogether," Harry said calmly.

Severus paused in his work. "Aloe has no magical properties, I hadn't even considered it to be an option. Look through the list of ingredients and see if it might interact with anything," He ordered somewhat hopefully. The boy flipped to the right page in the notes and shook his head.

"There is a possible interaction with the Lacewing Flies, but you could stop any potential side effect from that by replacing those with powdered Bicorn Horn," He said at length.

Severus tied his hair up with a leather thong and pulled out a second cauldron, this one empty. "I hadn't planned to brew this weekend, I don't have the oils that protect my hair from the fumes."

The boy got up and drew his wand, tapping the top of Severus hair. He could feel the charm expand to the tips of each individual hair. "It's a temporary charm, so if you brew anything for more than four hours, it has to be recast, otherwise it's rather useful," He stated. "I found it in an old Potions journal from some little known Potions Mistress. She created the spell specifically so she wouldn't have to shower four times a day, before they came out with oils."

Severus nodded as he began with the base for the potion. "Thank you, Harry. Powder the Horn while I work on the base, and locate the Aloe in the stores over in that cupboard. I already have the other ingredients prepared, so the potion should only take us about two hours."

The boy nodded and went to work immediately. Four hours later, one failed attempt on Severus' part, and renewed spell cast, they had created the perfected potion and successfully tested it on a were-rat Severus had thought to bring along.

"We did it!" Harry exclaimed happily, grinning at Severus, who felt his heart flip at the secret smile the boy rarely showed. "Werewolves can live normal lives now, without getting sick or transforming at the full moon. You're so bloody brilliant!" The Potions master was pleasantly surprised when he found his arms full of the jovial young wizard.

Severus smirked, but protested. "It was your idea about the aloe that helped me complete the potion, I couldn't have done it without your help. Also, you found the proper preparation and measurements for the Bicorn Horn and Aloe, _and_ found a way to reduce the brewing time. You have a real aptitude for potions and I'm sorry I didn't bring you in on the potion sooner," He said, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist. Harry looked up at him with his shimmering, heart-stopping gaze, smiling tenderly. He returned the smile cautiously, and was surprised when the boy leaned up, capturing his lips in a searing kiss. He moaned as slender fingers gripped his hair, and immediately regretted it when the boy pulled away, out of reach.

"I'm so sorry, sir, I don't know what I was thinking, I just…" He was breathing rapidly and backing away. "I'm sorry." Harry took off before Severus could stop him, bolting from the room and down the corridor.

SSHP

Severus stalked into Lucius' study, wishing he had his robes to wrap around him. "He kissed me," He said when Lucius started at the intrusion.

"Who did?" Lucius asked in confusion.

"Longbottom," Severus snarled sarcastically. "Who do you think, Lucius?"

The senior Malfoy made a soft 'o' with his mouth and smiled. "Well, that's good, isn't it? Did you tell him how you felt?"

"No! He bolted before I could say a word, and I can't find him anywhere in the manor. He is likely deliberately hiding from me," He said with a sigh as he collapsed in a chair across from the desk.

Lucius looked even more confused. "Start over, Severus, you aren't making any sense."

"He helped me solve the problem with the potion, the rash is gone because of him. We'd just finished testing the new potion, and he kissed me, rather passionately. I moaned, and I think he thought it was in protest, and he pulled away, backing quickly out of the room and apologizing. What am I supposed to do? He's avoiding me, Lucius!" He said, tugging at a strand of his hair. It was a nervous habit he'd developed as a child that he resorted to in high stress situations. He hadn't done it in a very long time, as nothing was very stressful as compared to spying on a megalomaniac.

He looked up when he heard Lucius chuckle. "Severus, they're performing a ritual tonight that you are chaperoning. Corner him afterwards, or abduct him from Draco's room if he escapes before you can grab him," The blond said simply, laughing at his friends panic.

"I'm glad I could amuse you with my troubles, Lucius," Severus bit out angrily. Sometimes his friend could be a real prat.

"Don't be absurd, Severus, I just think it's great that you're acting like a lovesick teenager. I haven't seen so much emotion from you in years," Lucius protested happily. "But despite your feelings towards my reaction, don't disregard my advice. Get him alone after the ritual, so he's not distracted during it, and talk to him. You've never had a problem conversing with him, once you realized he was 'Just Harry', so talk. He'll listen, I promise" Lucius urged.

Severus finally nodded, getting up and stalking out of the room. He still had to compose his notes to include the improvements and what Lucius would need to expect from Remus, while he was away chaperoning the ritual.


	4. The Bond

Harry landed at last when Draco came out into the front gardens looking for him. He changed from a Thestral as soon as he touched the ground, and then sat on the snow. Draco came over and wrapped a cloak around him, but Harry couldn't seem to feel the warmth.

"I'm an idiot, Draco," He said when Draco sat beside him. "I promised myself I'd stop thinking about him, stop wanting him, and go for someone more attainable, that maybe I could spend the rest of my life with him as my friend. Now I've gone and ruined everything."

"Harry, what happened? Did you owl him? I know you have a bad habit of doing things like that on impulse," Draco teased gently, nudging Harry's shoulder.

Harry smirked, but didn't look up from the blinding snow. "I kissed him, Dray, and…and he made a noise. I don't know if it was shock, or disgust, but I pulled away and apologized so profusely. He didn't say anything, Dray, he just stood there. He didn't try to stop me when I ran out of the room, even. I've ruined perhaps the best thing I ever had just because of some stupid idea that I might be loved!" He exclaimed, pounding his fist into the snow. He fell back and stared up at the falling flakes. "What am I going to do? Albus wants me to take the DADA job next year, and I want the job. I could really do some good in the school, I think, with Severus' help and yours, but…How can I face him after what I've done?"

Draco leaned over Harry, interrupting his view of the sky. "I'm going to assume we're not talking about Neville, and that you kissed Severus in his lab." Harry nodded morosely, tears streaming from his eyes and into his hair. "Talk to him, Harry. After the ritual, if you want, but you have to talk to him. Knowing you, you probably bolted from the room before he had a chance to stop you, we both know that you can disappear when you want to, literally and figuratively. You can't avoid him, though. If you don't talk to him this weekend, you'll have to talk to him at school. I know you're scared, but you've always been willing to take a risk. Take one now, with Severus. The worst that could happen is that he says no."

Harry sighed, his breath steaming in the cold air. "I can't Dray, don't you get it? I can't possibly face him. I can't believe you're even okay with this, he's your godfather."

Draco shrugged and lay out beside Harry. "He's a really great wizard, and I know he would make you happy. You need someone like him. You love him. Why would I want to stand in my brother's way of happiness? And he needs someone like you. You're perfect for each other, but you're both so stubborn. Talk to him, Harry. Let go of your pride and explain to him. Now get up, we need to go and get ready for the ritual. You've been flying for four hours, and it's time to set up the circle. Everyone is waiting for us in the back gardens, and you're not allowed to back out because of some big ol' bat. If you're not ready to talk to him, then I'll help keep you two from being alone until after the ritual. But afterwards, I expect you to talk to him."

Harry sighed and cast a warming charm on himself, sitting up. "Alright, let's go. Don't want to be late for the bonding, and I suppose we're necessary for the casting of the circle."

Draco rolled his eyes and pulled Harry to his feet. Harry shuffled behind him as they moved around the house to the back gardens. Thankfully, the gate at the side of the mansion was a magical port directly into the back gardens, or it might have taken them 30 minutes to get there. They joined everyone in the center clearing where Luna was setting up the elven wine on the altar and Snape was standing off to the side, observing. Harry ducked his head when the man looked over at them. He stood frozen when he heard the crunch of snow as his professor moved in his direction.

"Harry, we need your help to cast the circle, get over here," Draco called as everyone began moving into their places around the altar.

Harry nodded quickly. "Excuse me, sir," He said, moving swiftly around Severus to his place beside Draco and Luna. "We call to the Goddess to watch over our circle, to guide our ritual of friendship and give us her blessing. We call to Pan, consort to the Goddess, to protect our circle from negative influence as we give recognition to what binds us as family. So mote it be," Harry cried in the still winter air. Each of the teenagers echoed the last words in unison and snowflakes began to swirl around them. When they fell back to the ground, there was a green mark in the snow, illuminated by the fairy lights in the trees.

They all moved forward to the altar and each picked up a candle of a different color that a spell had told them was the color that represented them best. Harry poured them each a small glass of Elven wine, then poured what little was left of the bottle into a large chalice. Together the six began to chant, holding their glasses and candles.

"I am your friend, I am your teacher, I am your student, I am your dependent, I am your solace, I am your shield, I am your child, sister/brother and mother/father. I will protect you when you're weak, and stand by you when you're strong. Nothing can separate us. Let our bond be forever in favor and officiated by the Goddess. Blessed be."

They each lit the black candle in the center with their own, as a group, then poured their individual glasses into the central goblet. Harry took up the drink and held it to the heavens. "With the Goddess as witness, let Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Susan Bones, and Luna Lovegood as chaperoned by Professor Severus Snape, be forever bound together in the only manner stronger than blood. Let our souls forever be united in friendship and family, recognized by the Heavens as unbreakable, inseparable, and loved for all eternity. Let nothing stand between us, let none come into our family without their whole hearts, and let us forever be connected, so that we may protect one another from the horrors of the world. With the blessing of the Goddess, let us each always be there for each other, for better or worse. So mote it be," He recited. He drank deeply from the goblet, and then passed it to Draco, who recited the closer and drank as well. The chalice was passed around the circle clockwise, each asking for the blessing before drinking deeply of the symbol of unity.

When Luna finished drinking, she handed the chalice back to Harry, who set it back on the altar. The second his hands left the gold cup, the last vestiges of the wine burst into the flame, a white light flowing softly from the wine and into each of their chests. They each began to glow with a white aura, and Harry closed his eyes against the light. When he opened them again, they were each crying with the feeling of elation. Harry realized his joy was not only his own, but that of his friends as well. They were connected, through the soul, and would forever know where each other was, and how they were feeling.

The group set to work closing the circle in silence. Unexpectedly, when it fell they did as well. Harry watched each of his friends fall unconscious in confusion and panic before darkness took him as well.


	5. Return to Hogwarts

Severus collapsed into the chair across from his friend and Remus. It had taken them nearly an hour to get the six friends into Draco's room and settled, mostly because they'd had to figure out the space issue. They'd found out quickly that when any of the six lost contact with the others, they were put through excruciating pain, and had eventually removed the furniture from Draco's sitting room and made a large, circular bed, the friends laying with their feet towards the center and holding hands as they had been when they closed the circle. Severus thanked the Goddess his potion had worked and that Remus was wholly of mind, or it might have taken longer.

"It's a complete bonding," Severus said at length. "It has only been seen a few times in the Wizarding world. The first was between Merlin and Arthur, the second between Hogwarts founders, and the last was between an amateur quidditch team in Switzerland. It's not entirely surprising it happened between your six wards."

Remus sighed. "But what does that mean, a complete bonding? And when will they wake up? James, Sirius, Pettigrew and I performed the ritual when we were fifteen, and we certainly didn't pass out."

"A complete bonding means that, on the day they each met, they knew without a doubt they could never betray each other and would forever be tied in some capacity. For Harry and Draco, they likely imagined they would always be arch rivals. Your marriage changed the capacity for them, but not the feeling. With the complete bonding, they will be connected through the soul. Normally the sentiment in the ritual is a formality, and the friends are bound in their hearts, but in the case of a full bonding, the friends literally share their souls with each other, opening up to them completely. Any secrets, reservations, or prejudices will be resolved among them in this sleep, induced by the mingling of souls. They still remain individuals, and the friendship will not change from what it is now, but they will have an increase in their magic levels as well as be fully connected in their minds and souls. They will be capable of telepathic communication, and will feel each other's emotions sharply if they want to. They shouldn't sleep past tomorrow evening, but they will be exhausted when they wake up, from the magical growth. Their cores will be a tad sensitive, and any spell work will have to be carefully supervised, because they will have to relearn power generation. If they are not already, they will instinctively become animagi. The theory behind this particular quirk is that the animagus forms help the friends reach other, no matter the circumstances. That is the extent of my research. I don't know if more can be found by studying other Wizarding cultures, but I imagine the complete bonding would be little affected by the cultural influence behind it," Severus explained.

The three sat in contemplative silence for a time before Lucius spoke. "I suppose you never got a chance to speak to him," He said questioningly.

Severus shook his head. "It doesn't matter, what would I say? He was caught up in the joy of the moment. At most, it was likely an impulse induced by thanks, or the praise I had given him," He said morosely.

"Don't give up on Harry so quickly, Severus," Remus said. Severus looked at him in surprise, as did the man's husband. "It's the full moon. I could smell the desire and attraction coming from your rooms last night, from the both of you, when I went to check on Harry to be sure he wasn't having nightmares. I saw you both asleep on the couch. It was rather cute. I'm going to assume neither of you have spoken about the attraction?"

Severus sighed and stood, leaning against the mantle. "I'm not just attracted to your son, Remus, I'm in love with him. I appreciate you telling me that Harry is interested, but it doesn't change the fact that he is a teenager, my student, and your son."

"There are no rules against it, so long as he leaves your class. Lucius could give him private tutoring on the weekends for the rest of the school year, if it came to it and it's _because_ he's our son that you should take the risk. We know him better than many, and Harry would never deliberately hurt you. Knowing he's attracted to you should make you want to take the chance," Remus reasoned.

"Well it doesn't," Severus snarled. "All of the facts don't change his age, Remus. He's a teenager, he'd be turned on at the sight of a banana, let alone sleeping in the lap of a man."

Remus made a face that rang surprisingly of anger. "I can't believe you'd make such stupid excuses, just to avoid the possibility of being hurt. You could be infinitely happy with Harry, but instead you let your own pride get in the way. I've always known you were a proud man, Severus, but I never saw you as vain until now."

"And what if I do allow my pride to get in the way? It doesn't matter, does it? Even if he did share my feelings, we would never be accepted by anyone outside of this house!" The dour man bellowed.

Remus shook his head and Severus saw a deep regret in Lucius eyes. "So the truth comes out. You're afraid of what people will think of you? I was wrong to call you vain, Severus. You're an outright fool, and you're hurting Harry to shield yourself from imaginary pain. Even Sirius would never stoop so low to protect his pride," Remus said softly, glaring at him. He stood, and moved towards the door, only pausing to look at Severus with disgust. "You're pathetic, and I hope Harry can someday find a man who would fight for him. A man who really loves him."

When Remus left, Severus looked to Lucius for support, but the blonde only shook his head. "Even I didn't think you could be this stupid, Severus. Harry was wrong, you're nothing like Fitzwilliam Darcy. If you're anyone, you're Wickham."

"Why?"

"Because he, too, was willing to hurt people to get what he wanted. Remus is right, you _are_ hurting my son, all so you can stay in your antisocial bubble. Lily is dead, Severus, and has been for 16 years, but you are not. She was never your only friend, but after her death you shut everyone out, even me. We've never been as close as we once were, and I used to sympathize with you, because I knew it was hard to lose a sibling. Now I realize it was a waste. Her death protected the boy who would become the man you love, and instead of honoring her final wish for you to be happy, you'll throw it in her face. I can no longer sympathize, but I most certainly pity such a sad man," Lucius said sadly, following his husband out of the room.

Severus watched him go in confusion. How had this happened? Was it so wrong to want to protect himself from getting hurt? If he had nothing, he would at least have his dignity. It was the coin that without which his purse was empty. Why should he sacrifice that for a _chance_ that he could be happy, a chance that wasn't even guaranteed.

SSHP

Severus was still being stubborn when he began packing the next afternoon for the return to Hogwarts. Lucius and Remus were refusing to speak to him, and were packing the students bags for them, so they could be sure they were ready when they woke up. As he settled his items into his pack, he remembered vividly the reason for most of them. He'd received one compliment from the boy, and had repacked because of it. He'd made a concession of his pride, even if it had been subtle, then, and now he wasn't only hurting Harry. He acknowledged the pain that had been settling into him for two years as he sat on the bed. It was sharper now, with his renewed uncertainty. The longer he remained uncertain, the more likely the hurt would remain, and eventually turn to regret. When he was rejected, the pain would fade in time, he knew that, so why was he putting himself through this?

Standing abruptly, Severus made his way to his godson's suite. When he came in the door, he saw Remus and Lucius casting medical spells over the six friends, checking their vitals.

"They're close to waking, they've left the meditative sleep now, and should be conscious in an hour," Lucius said, looking at him.

Severus nodded. "I'll talk to him," He responded. "But not tonight. Tonight they will all be terribly exhausted, no matter the mode of transportation we use, so it would be selfish to try and talk to him. When he's gotten his magic under control once more, I'll talk to him."

"Thank you, Severus," Remus said, smiling gently.

"Don't thank me, Remus. I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for myself. Better to get the humiliation out of the way than have it be brought up at the worst moment in a year or so as colleagues," Severus excused swiftly. He turned and left the room once more.

SSHP

Severus helped each student as they stumbled out of the floo in the Great Hall, catching each one as they shuffled on exhausted feet. He led them into the entrance hall before calling a few elves to carry their bags back to their dorms.

"I want all of you to return directly to your dorms, no meandering. Your cores are erratic, so I expect you to listen when I say not to perform any sort of magic. You could injure yourselves, or others, so it's best not to take the risk. Off to bed," He commanded lightly.

Each student nodded and gave a unanimous bid of "goodnight, Professor" before shuffling in the directions of their respective dorms. Severus watched them go silently, as each passed a secret, sleepy smile. They knew what had happened, he realized. He had chosen not to explain it to them until the next day before classes, but they already knew. One of them must have done extensive research into the idea, and had the money to purchase the texts, because the only information could be found in foreign works. The Potions Master felt tempted to laugh at himself. It wasn't one of them, it was more likely a group effort, as was all of their more eclectic research projects.

He shook his head in amusement at the ingenuity of the group and began the long walk to the seventh floor, to give the Headmaster a full report on the weekend before returning to his rooms to begin the article he would publish on the much improved Wolfsbane. After the second flight of stairs, he realized that it was perhaps against the best interests of his students to have sent four of them to towers. It was too late to renege, he knew; they were likely already halfway to their destinations. At least he knew they would sleep this night. He sighed heavily as he reached the Headmaster's office. This would incredibly boring, and trying on his nerves. He couldn't wait to retire to his rooms.

SSHP

Hogwarts resident Potions Master was reading over his completed article when he found his office invaded by four distraught teenagers. Immediately, he was bombarded with shouting and pleading. After a minute, he managed to calm them down.

"What's happened, why aren't you in your dorms?"

"It's Harry, sir, he's in trouble!" Bones said quickly.

"What's happened?"

"We were in our dorms, sending each other messages of goodnight, when we all felt panic flood the connection from Harry's end," Granger spoke next.

"We asked him what was happening and he said that Weasley was forcing a potion down his throat and had petrified Neville. Neville said that he saw Ginny come in as well, drinking her own potion, and wearing a bathrobe and nothing else," Draco added.

"Harry mentioned that the potion smacked of lavender, cinnamon and peach, and is worried that they have forced him to take a libido enhancement drug, and that Ginny likely took a fertility potion," Luna explained more completely. "Susan saw her researching them in the library last month, and she'd stopped on the page with the strongest version."

Draco seemed to zone for a few minutes. "Harry's gone silent, and Neville says he's listening intently to the both of them rant about how he was always meant to be with Ginny. He's in a body bind as well, and Ginny is working at his clothes. She's having trouble, though, because Harry put a temporary sticking charm on them after the last time she tried to molest him. Dean and Seamus are in Hufflepuff, they can't help at all."

"Why does he not break the bind?" Severus asked, rising from his seat and leading the group out of the room and towards the stairs.

"Because you told us not to use our magic, sir," Hermione answered. "We've been working the last few weeks on reviewing magic generation, in case the ritual ended the way it did, but we're aware that we could still hurt someone. Harry doesn't want to risk injuring Neville."

"Foolish martyr of a boy," Severus murmured under his breath. "Why did you not retrieve your own Heads of Houses? Why did you all immediately come to me?" He knew it was irrelevant for now, but he had to keep them talking to keep them from panicking even more.

He grew nervous at the glances each student sent in another's direction. "We all contacted our heads of house, sir, except Draco because he was trying to keep Harry and Neville calm, and each one flooed to the Gryffindor common room only to be dispatched by magical traps set up at the entrance to the fireplace. I don't imagine Ron thought we'd go to you, though, and you're the only professor who won't floo to into a common room on reflex," Luna answered.

Severus sped up his pace considerably, his students being forced to jog or run outright in an effort to keep up. As he arrived at the Fat Lady, he sent a quick Patronus with the message "Potter, Gryffindor, don't floo" to the Headmaster. "Let me in, you ridiculous portrait!" He snarled at the sleeping painting.

She snorted sleepily but otherwise didn't react, so he began beating upon the frame. "You ridiculous beast of a woman, open the damn door!" He shouted. She popped awake and glared down at him. He returned the glare fully, and she sniffed indignantly. "Let me in, you pompous, obese woman, or I will set your frame alight," He threatened menacingly.

"Not without the password, you Slytherin fool. Do you think I would let the Head Snake into my House?" She replied haughtily. She looked to his companions. "Surely your brood knows the password, they are in here often enough."

"But we don't!" Hermione protested. "Ron changed it after Harry, Neville, and I came in, and no one inside knows the password either! Lavender told me we'd find out in the morning."

"Then ask Mr. Weasley and leave me to my sleep," The infuriating portrait said evenly.

"Listen, you stupid woman, there is a student in trouble in the boys 7th Year dorm, and if you do not let me pass it will fall on you for any harm that befalls any of the children within that House," Severus growled, trying to keep his temper in check.

"If that were true then McGonagall would have sent me a message saying to let you in, and I have received no such message," The Fat Lady insisted.

"Uncle Sev, we have to hurry, Harry says that Ginny's begun trying to undo his sticking charms," Draco said, panic in his voice.

"Please, Fat Lady, you have to let us in! Neville and Harry are in trouble!" Hermione pleaded, tears in her eyes. "If we don't get in…"

"I'm sorry, dear, but not without-"

"Lion's Heart, Snake's Skin, Badger's Claws, and Raven's Feather," A voice sounded from a few feet down the hall. Everyone turned to see the Headmaster, moving faster than his age should have allowed. "You have the Headmaster's password, so let them pass."

The Fat Lady immediately opened and the group rushed inside. They stopped just in the entrance, seeing the teachers wrapped tightly in invisible bonds. Flitwick's face was turning purple, because the height of the spell had left the invisible ropes to cut across his throat.

"Can any of you perform magic?" Severus asked the four students.

"Not alone, because we took magic suppressants before we went to bed, in case of accidental magic, but together the four of us can undo the bindings," Granger assured him. The four friends stepped over to the fireplace, and Severus, seeing it was being handled, led the Headmaster to the dorm he knew was Harry's.

They burst through the door to the dorm, to see the Weasley boy waving his wand at Harry in frustration, mangling the reversal spell as the Weasley chit tried to rip the boy's jeans from his body and screamed at him to undo the spell. Severus moved swiftly over to the girl and wrenched her arm, swinging her off of the bed, then sent a stunning hex at the other Weasley, who stood frozen in fear.

The Headmaster moved to take the girl, but she screamed and stunned him with her wand, the only thing she had on. As he fell, McGonagall sent a body bind at her from the stairs, followed by a tangle of ropes for good measure. The Transfigurations professor left the revival of their esteemed leader to Sprout as she and Flitwick levitated the two criminal children. As Severus watched it all from Harry's bedside, trying to work out how they had petrified him so completely, as it obviously wasn't a common jinx, the Weasley girl began screaming, having broken her body bind, but unable to dispel the ropes.

"No, he was supposed to be mine!" The girl screamed. "Ron promised, he would be mine, my slave, my love! I was supposed to have everything, his riches and fame, the children of the Great Harry Potter are mine to bear!"

Finally, Severus realized the curse wasn't a bind, but for paralysis, and disabled it. The boy leapt into his arms, clinging desperately. Severus gestured to Sprout to release Longbottom and take him to Hospital Wing, realizing Harry had been traumatized and was unlikely to release him soon. As soon as they were gone, Severus spoke.

"You're alright, Harry," He soothed.

"I couldn't make her stop, Professor. I tried, but she cast the paralysis curse, and I wasn't sure I could disable it wandlessly without destroying the whole room. I was so worried when she got my shirt off…thank Merlin I have an immunity to any potion with peach in it, or she might have become more aggressive," Harry mumbled into his chest.

"You're fine now, Harry. Shirtless, but you're fine," Severus teased lightly. He pulled the boy away. "And how did you manage such an immunity? I've never heard such a thing." He asked, smiling softly.

Harry shrugged. "After I turned five, and before my aunt began to worry I might run away when I turned eight, she would send me to do the shopping for the day. After the first week, the lady at the shop finally asked me why I was such a thin child, and did I eat. I told her I got a piece of bread and glass of water every morning, so of course I ate. Every day after that, for three years, the lady at the shop would give me a peach, and she wouldn't let me leave until I had finished it. I suppose at some point my immune system eventually had to adapt to one of my daily intakes, and since bread and water are more necessary than all the sugar in a peach, it chose the peach," He explained, wrapping his arms around his abdomen and pulling his knees up close to his chest.

Severus sat on the edge of the bed and shoved the boy's shoulder lightly. "That is the biggest load of codswallop I have ever heard."

The younger wizard chuckled softly, warming Severus' heart. "Yeah…it's actually an old childhood allergy. My aunt gave me an old peach half for lunch one day when I was three, and saw that it made me sick. When I was sick, she could get Vernon to lay off for a short time. Certainly she hated me, but even she thought my workload wasn't workable, so she kept feeding me peaches until they stopped making me sick. Poppy said I built up an immunity, but she never imagined it would come in handy."

Severus studied the boy. "I should let you get to sleep. Will you be alright here on your own, or do you want to move into one of your friend's dorms until this has all been sorted out?"

The 17 year old shook his head. "No, Draco told me that Neville threw up as soon as he heard what Ginny was spewing, I've asked them to make sure he's alright. I'll be completely alright on my own, and I'm sorry to have pulled you away from your rooms so late at night, Professor," He said, lying down on his side, away from the professor.

"Harry, I thought I told you to call me 'Severus'?"

The boy shrugged. "No, sir. You told me to call you that when we were away from the school. We're not away from the school, and anyway…I didn't think you'd want me to, after how stupid I acted."

Severus sighed. "I'm more worried about how you're handling Miss Weasley's attempt to assault you, we can talk about what happened at a later date," He assured the boy.

"I told you, I'm fine. Nothing actually happened, and if I need to talk about it, I'll have Luna come up. She said the Headmaster changed the password for the Fat Lady. You don't have to stay here, your duty as my teacher has been fulfilled," Harry murmured.

Severus sighed, still becoming accompanied to the group talking in their heads, but stood. "It was never duty, Harry. I did it for you, always for you. You should know that by now." He began walking towards the door, wondering if he should ever talk to the boy after this, if he would ever have another chance, and shrugged it away. He would take what came, as he always had. He was startled when Harry spoke as he reached for the door.

"Is it wrong to love your teacher, sir? I mean, Draco's trying to start something with Madame Hooch, but he's not really in love with her. He's in love with Hermione, though he still worries she can't love him because of what happened our first few years here," Harry whispered.

"It is never wrong to love, Harry, not for any reason. When it comes to your teachers, you can either wait until graduation, or in cases like yours, have a qualified guardian teach you the subject in their stead," He answered, turning. He saw the boy standing at the end of his bed, his shirtless abdomen awash in the cold moonlight from the window, and took a hopeful step forward.

"My dad's would never agree to that, sir. They'd have to come here, or me to the Manor, every week. Pop has his writing, and Dad has too much work. He runs the international trade business, and consults for Gringott's in investments, neither of them have the time to teach me just because I was being impatient to get my heartbroken, sir," Harry muttered. Severus heard the sadness in his voice, and decided he would take the risk that the boy, understandably, would not.

"Lucius told me that he would gladly come to Hogwarts once a week to teach you potions," He said casually, his heart beating against his chest.

Harry smirked bashfully. "Why did he tell you that, Professor?"

Severus turned back to the door and closed it all the way, Sprout having left it open when she left. He was stalling, he knew, but he wasn't quite sure he could say it aloud to the boy. He shuddered as arms encircled his waist, hands gliding up his chest. Teeth nibbled at his neck gently, and Severus wondered idly how he'd missed the fact that the boy was nearly his height.

"Severus," the boy hissed. "Why did my father tell you that he could tutor me in Potions? I find you're quite perfect for the job. Did he think you ill-suited, perhaps?"

Severus smirked and turned, pinning the boy against the wall behind the door. He kissed Harry passionately, pressing against him and tangling a hand in the feathery, raven locks. The younger wizard gripped him just as tightly, holding their bodies together until the need for air became too much.

"Because I love you, you insolent whelp, and he was trying to fight every excuse I had to never tell you," Severus told the boy, smiling softly and breathing hard.

Harry grinned. "What argument won out in the end?"

"Your kiss, Harry, was what won me over. I realized that if I spent my life wondering if I'd ever hold you in my arms like that again, all I'd have accomplished is to spend my life wondering," Severus said evenly.

The boy had the gall to laugh. "Sounds terribly similar to what you told me when I thought I might never be able to love someone enough. You should've listened to your own advice sooner, we'd have had a few extra days, or weeks, to be this infinitely happy together."

Severus sighed. "I know, but you can't change the past, and other than what happened a few moments ago with your dorm mate and his sister, I don't imagine I'd want to."

Harry shrugged, kissing Severus' lips tenderly. "Even if you hadn't gotten here in time, Neville made me promise that, with him there or not, I was to blow the room apart if they got far enough I began to panic. Lucky you did show up, though, I much prefer this ending to the one where I get sent to Azkaban for killing a minor with uncontrolled magic."

"Knowing the system as I do, and how they handle celebrities, you probably would've gotten off with a warning," Severus said, chuckling when Harry looked properly aghast.

Harry quickly realized Severus was joking, and kissed him again to quiet his laughter. "Shut up, you big git, I was trying to say thank you."

"How about 'I love you' instead, insolent brat," Severus smirked, running a hand through the long hair of the Man-Who-Prevailed idly.

"I love you, my overgrown bat of a Slytherin," Harry said softly.

Severus looked into the shining green eyes. "And I you, my foolish martyr of a Gryffindor."

Harry chuckled. "Can't be a martyr unless you're dead, Severus."

The Potions Master hummed, still lost in the deep green before him. "Your point?"

"I'm not dead yet."

He was surprised when the boy jumped up and wrapped his legs around his waist, kissing him with a fiery desire. When Harry pulled away, Severus noticed that the boy had used some unknown trick to transport them to the Potions Master's bedroom. "How?"

"The Headmaster isn't the only one full of surprises," Harry teased with a shrug.

"You most certainly are," He agreed, laying the boy out on his bed. As he studied, the bare, tanned chest below him, mapping it with mouth and hands, he made a silent promise to himself. He would learn to take risks again, because Lucius had been right. He was infinitely happy.


	6. Epilogue

Harry sat in a dark corner of the Headmaster's office with Severus standing beside him, holding his hand softly. He flinched when Ginny, Ron, Lavender, Seamus, Dean, and Romilda Vane were led into room under silencing charms. They were all yelling, despite being unheard, and Harry was glad he couldn't read lips, or their minds.

Aurors came in behind the group, one standing behind each delinquent. When everyone was settled before the Headmaster's desk, Kingsley lifted the silencing charm on Seamus and Dean first, who went silent immediately from the look in Dumbledore's steely eyes.

"I would like to know exactly how you were involved and what you knew of the plans to steal the innocence of Mr. Potter," Albus said calmly.

Dean snorted. "He's hardly innocent, he killed the Dark Lord, and he's famous for murder. Besides, he was supposed to remain friends with Ron, and marry Ginny. Then Ginny would bear his brood of brats with me as her well-kept lover. We didn't know how they planned to accomplish it, only that we were to pretend to be in another dorm room whenever they said so."

"What were you getting out of it, Mr. Finnigan?" Kingsley asked the silent boy.

"I figured that once Ginny made Harry fall in love with her, he'd stop hanging around the Slytherins so much, dissolving the friendship. Once that happened, I'd have my chance to rape Blaise and claim him as my slave in an old pureblood ritual," The boy admitted sourly.

"You have to be a pureblood for that, you insignificant pawn. You played right into Weasley's hand," Moody growled, coming into the room and taking a seat. Harry had forgotten that the man had volunteered to act as witness.

Albus sighed and lifted the silencing spell on Lavender and Romilda next, replacing the ones on the two boys. "What was your involvement?"

"Ginny promised me that, once Harry had given her children, she would have no use for his attentions, and so would allow me to Polyjuice for her whenever she went to her lover. I know that she'd been planning to take fertility potions, so it would only be a year before Harry was mine," She said awkwardly. "And anyway, Ginny promised that once they married and she had control of his accounts as Lady Potter, she would pay me handsomely for the privilege to be Harry's secret second wife."

Harry actually chuckled, drawing the room's attention. "Did none of you realize that my being gay might stand in the way of your plans?"

Romilda smiled sweetly. "But you're not gay, dearest love, you've merely been brain-washed by those Slytherins you spend so much time with," She said patronizingly, speaking as though to a stupid child.

Harry shook his head. "I've known I was gay since second year, when I started having wet dreams about Professor Snape," He told her, looking as though he wasn't sure whether to slap her or laugh in her face.

Lavender spoke up. "That doesn't really matter, Ginny had me mix the desire enhancement potion with a love potion. She had plans to keep you on it until you were married and had bred enough children, then you'd be trapped, because a Lord can't divorce merely because he doesn't love his wife, and the love potion was undetectable."

Harry looked thoughtful. "I had wondered about the peach, as it was more commonly used in Gradius Amor (1), than as a supplement in Levendigg op Leger (2)," He said aloud. He looked at his lover. "Remind me to thank my aunt for forcing my body into that particular immunity."

Severus smirked, but didn't answer, opting instead to tease the boy. "It's much easier to sound smart when you have Granger and Malfoy in your head." The boy swatted his arm, making him chuckle and kiss the boys hand, earning them all soft, approving smiles from the assembled adults and looks of disgust from the 6 teens.

"You chose him?" Lavender squeaked.

"That doesn't really affect you, does it? What I want to know is how you were involved. You've never had a problem with my choice in friends, or the Slytherins, and I don't think you've ever deluded yourself into thinking hero worship meant love," Harry said curiously.

The girl sniffed righteously. "I did it for my Ronniekins. He said that once you married his sister, you'd be his friend again and gladly give him the money for my dream wedding, but he couldn't afford the ring until she had access to your money. As everyone knows, I'm far better at Potions than Hermione, and she just gets extra points for being a teacher's pet, so I created any potions that Ginny or Ronniekins required."

Harry shared a look with Severus, stifling a snort. "I was wrong, she's definitely deluding herself."

Severus smirked again, but stayed silent.

Albus sighed. "The four of you will be charged as accomplices to the attempted assault against Harry Potter, and you, Miss Brown, will be charged with brewing illegal potions additionally," He waved his hand and the Auror's led the four of them out. As soon as the door shut, Arthur, Molly, the twins, and, to everyone's surprise, Percy, opened it again and filed in.

"As Ginny Weasley is a minor, she has to have a parent or guardian present to chaperone. Her family has opted to all stand witness to the interrogation," Kingsley announced. A quill that had slowly been recording the testimonies of the accomplices put the speech on the record, starting a new sheet of parchment.

Albus lifted the silencing spells on the two youngest Weasley's. "Explain your plan, in its entirety."

Both children remained stubbornly silent until they were threatened with Veritaserum from the Head Auror.

"It's all the bastards fault, for turning my sister away the summer after fifth year. She'd gone to his bed one night, about a week into his stay, and then came to me, crying. She told me he'd fucked her violently before kicking her out of his room, and I could see that she had bruises on her wrists and arms from where he'd pinned her," Ron said. "She was so distraught. She felt she had been violated, and when she told me he'd told her he was gay, I got pissed. I went to him the next morning and demanded he explain himself, why had he basically raped my sister. He lied and said she'd come to his room, but he'd told her quite clearly that he wasn't interested and that he'd closed the door in her face. He tried to say my sister had created the bruises herself when he'd refused her. So, I decided that if he was going to take my sister's innocence, he would have to marry her," Ron finished evenly.

Severus snorted. "Your sister hasn't been a virgin since her fourth year, when she slept with Michael Corner in an abandoned classroom," He said. "I should know, I discovered them after the act, but couldn't prove it except for the nauseating smell. It's why she had detention with Filch for a month."

"That's a lie!" Ron screamed, jumping at the Potions Master and being restrained by the Auror who stood over him. "My baby sister is a good, sweet girl, she had detentions with Filch because you're a prat and she'd been making perfect grades, beating out your precious Slytherins!"

"Don't be dolt, Ron, she's been lying to you. Mum and Dad have been getting monthly reports on both of you from Professor McGonagall, Ginny's an average student at best," Percy growled.

"What do you know? You abandoned our family!" Ron screamed.

"Percy never abandoned us, Ron, the prat's just been working in secret to get Dad a better job, to promote him silently within the Ministry and get dirt on Fudge so Dad can run successfully for Minister next year, idiot," George said, smacking the boy upside the head.

"Now you've likely ruined his chances, when this gets into the press," Fred added, also roughly cuffing his younger brother over the head.

"It will be kept quiet, the only people who will knowat the ministry are Madam Bones and myself, as she will be presiding over all of the kids trials and the aurors will have their memories altered," Kingsley said. "Neither of us would hold the sins of these two idiots against their well-recommended father. His own reputation precedes him."

"Thank you, Kingsley," Molly whispered. She rounded on her daughter. "I trust Severus to tell us the truth, and he had sent us a letter announcing his suspicions and concerns that you might become promiscuous, but we disregarded it, thinking you were simply being a teenager. What did you do to Harry?"

The girl sneered unattractively. "You told me when I was younger that I'd never get anywhere with my hero if I didn't learn to interact with boys, so I began _interacting_. I actually lost my virginity to Marcus Flint in Third Year, the guy had a secret hard-on for red heads." She lifted her head proudly. "When I thought I'd gathered enough information to properly please a man, I went to Harry that summer after third year. He said I was too young, so I went to gather more…research. I must've slept with twenty boys, and thought for sure when I went to Harry that next year he'd welcome me with open arms. He told me I was pathetic for sleeping with so many boys, that he'd never sleep with me because he was gay, then slammed the door in my face. I was furious, obviously. I flooed Dean and made him bone me as hard as he could, made him leave bruises, then I came back home and ran to little Ronnie's room with my sob story. The prat actually believed Harry was capable of such an atrocity. When Harry denied the story, of course he would as it never happened, Ron punched him and demanded he marry me for deflowering his precious little sister," She simpered dramatically. "Harry told him he was an idiot, and left to live with his Godfather. After he left, Ron decided to do whatever it took to make him marry me. He played right into my palm, and agreed to act as witness to Harry impregnating me, and old pureblood law used when a girl wishes to marry a non-pureblood. I actually think he was excited about the idea of watching me rape the Boy-Who-Lived."

Ron looked pale and aghast. "I lost my best friend because you lied to me, because he refused to sleep with you?"

Ginny scoffed at him. "Don't play innocent, Ronald, you've been telling me for years all about how you had made a copy of Harry's Gringotts key and continuously used his wand to mark permission notes so you could steal thousands of galleons from him and get the attention from wizards for being allowed in Harry's vaults. The only reason Lavender even became interested in you, and you in her, is because she felt you deserved Harry's fame and would help you get it. He was never your friend, only your ticket to riches and fame, same as me."

Molly stepped towards her two youngest. "How could I have raised such lying, thieving children?"

Ginny smiled sweetly. "But, Mother, you told me yourself that I needed experience to get Harry's attention."

The woman slapped the girl, surprising everyone in the room. "I told you to learn to talk to him, not to whore yourself out to the entire male population of Hogwarts. Don't ever call me your mother again, your father and I renounce you both as our heirs and will testify against you."

"And tell them what? You can only testify as witness, bitch!" Ginny cried, laughing hysterically.

"That's all she has to do," Kingsley said. "Ginevra and Ronald, formerly Weasley, you're under arrest for the attempted rape of Harry Potter, to be charged as such, and additionally charged with assault, entrapment, theft, and the commissioning of illegal potions. Get these vile beasts out of my sight." The Auror's nodded and led the two brat's out of the room, the Weasley's following them out.

Everyone looked at the green-eyed savior in the corner. "Will you be alright, Harry? I know that must've been hard." Albus said softly.

The boy shrugged, smiling when he received a reassuring squeeze to his hand from Severus. "It's nothing more than I suspected. I already knew about Ron having a copy of my Gringotts key and forging notes, but I thought he was using it to send money to his family so I didn't say anything. I never imagined he would be stealing money from me for himself, I thought he was better than that. How much did he take, do you think?"

An Auror came in and handed Kingsley a file before leaving again. "These are the files supporting the story, floo connections, testimonies of several boys Ginevra slept with, and transactions at Gringotts. The Goblins were kind enough to omit anything you appeared personally for, and we asked that they leave off the time in your second year when Mrs. Weasley collected your school supplies. Altogether," He paused, flipping through several pages. "He's accessed one of your family vaults, had transactions by mail and in person, and nearly emptied one of your smaller vaults that held 2 million galleons, as well as a collection of expensive fabrics and family heirlooms. I have another record here from Gringotts that says some anonymous benefactor purchased all of the heirlooms and other items that Ronald sought to sell and had them returned to your vaults."

"That would be Mr. Burke," Harry said, grinning. "I had some need for his assistance in my fourth year, when Dobby became unsure he could acquire Gillyweed for me. When I received a missive from Gringotts in Fifth Year telling me that Ron had begun trying to sell off some items, I paid Mr. Burke to buy them and return them, doubling the cost as his pay. I had no idea what the items were, as we never discussed it for fear someone would find the correspondence, but I had assumed they were Ron's old clothes and things, or perhaps some stuff his brother's bought him, and that Burke was paying a whole lot extra so he could get a bigger stipend."

"Are we done here?" Severus asked.

Kingsley nodded. "So long as Mr. Potter is willing to testify at the trial about what he's just told us, then yes. Would you like me to notify Remus and Lucius of what has happened?"

Harry nodded and together he and Severus left, walking down to the dungeons after wishing everyone a good day. When they entered Severus' private chambers, Harry collapsed onto the couch. "I don't think I expected such a level of betrayal. I feel like I should be angry with all of them, but I just feel sorry for them."

Severus leaned over the back of the couch and ran his fingers through the boy's hair. "It's not uncommon. You have such a complete relationship with your friends that the betrayal of people you never felt truly close to won't affect you as much. Here, this might cheer you up," He dropped that week's Potion's Journal onto the boy's stomach.

Harry raised the glossy Magazine to eye level and gasped. "The Improved Wolfsbane by Severus Snape, in collaboration with…" The boy gasped, his eyes lighting up as he stopped reading. "You gave me credit? All I did was suggest an uncommon ingredient! I didn't really do anything!"

"In case you've forgotten, you're also the one that figured out the proper dosage, how to reduce the brewing time, and the amount of Aloe and Bicorn Horn that needed to be added. It might have taken me days to figure out what you did in three hours. You have an aptitude for creating new potions, Harry, and with this article it will be recognized. I wouldn't be surprised if you have Master's owling you from around the world for advice and collaboration requests within the week," He said simply.

"Thank you, Severus, for making me famous for something besides killing the boogey man, you're incredible," Harry said, leaning up and kissing him softly.

Severus rolled his eyes. "I do believe I mentioned that you don't have to thank me for telling the truth."

Harry grinned tugged on a strand of his lover's hair. "You'll have to tell me at least a thousand times more, because I'll never stop thanking you for being perfect. Go correct homework or something, you git, I need to meet Dray for class. The whole group's in a stir because I missed classes yesterday."

"Did you not explain that Albus didn't want you to be attacked by any unknown accomplices?"

Harry stood and grinned, stretching as he moved towards the door. "That just made them worry even more. Oh, Headmaster Dumbledore told me and Neville we could have rooms elsewhere in the castle, since we're in line to become professor's and our dorm mates are no longer there to complain. I'm rooming with Dray in Slytherin, since it'll be easier for Dad to teach me potions on the weekends if I'm already in the dungeons. I'll see you tonight, if the guys will let me get away." With final, secret smile and a wave, he left the room.

Severus shook his head lightly in amusement at Dumbledore's manipulations, then went through the door that led to his office. He smiled when he looked at his desk and saw a large cardboard box. He walked over and grabbed the card taped to the top.

Sev,

As promised, a whole box of red licorice. I even had my cousin add some  
new Muggle American candy called Twizzlers, which separate into smaller strips from  
one big one. For the record, I think I got the better end of the deal.

Love, Harry

Severus thought about what the boy meant, and realized that if he had never agreed to allowing the group of students to accompany him for the weekend, he and Harry might never have spoken to each other about what was between them. As he settled in to begin his grading, he glanced at the box once more, the card set up against it. If he was honest, he felt maybe Harry was right. Compared to the weekend and its outcome, a box of licorice seemed paltry. Still, he couldn't let it go to waste.

He opened the box and pulled out a bag of licorice. After searching his confiscation drawer for a few minutes, he withdrew a flavorless prank potion with the most humiliating side effects, one he'd found a young Gryffindor trying to slip into his friend's food the week before. He opened the package carefully and dribbled the potion over the sweet. As it sank into the candy slowly, he wrote a note in an unidentifiable script, and a second in his own hand. When the potion was completely absorbed, he resealed the package and attached the two notes before returning to his papers. He would send the package after he finished his grading and spoken with Harry and his friends.

SSHP

Kingsley Shacklebolt walked into the holding cell he had the 6 former Hogwarts students placed in, a smile firmly planted on his face. "I was asked to deliver this personally by Mr. Potter's friends." He read the note on the package. "It would appear that, while you'll still be charged for your wrongs, the boy has decided to forgive you."

He tossed the sweets onto the table the six sat at and waited until he'd left the room to lift the binding spell they were placed under. He watched with a smirk as each one sampled the licorice trustingly, finishing it between them in record time. He gestured for the Auror's on guard to join him at the large one-way window into the room, and as the five of them watched, each teenager began to sprout hair on every available patch of skin of differing, visually disturbing, bright colors, and hiccupped rainbow-colored bubbles. Shacklebolt couldn't help but laugh when they all sprouted long, twisted horns and Walrus Tusks so heavy the forced the kids heads to the table.

"Shouldn't we help them out?" One of the Auror's asked nervously.

"Let's give them a few hours, I think it's time for lunch, on me boys," Kingsley answered. "I don't think they'll be going anywhere, do you?"

The men watched for a moment as their charges all attempted to lift their heads, only to have their horns or tusks drag their heads back down to the table. Each Auror shrugged and followed their leader to the cafeteria.

A/N: I dunno, should I write about how Harry's group of friends came to be? Let me know what you think.


End file.
